Sydney to expect a cool change

March Against Mike targets Baird

Thousands of protesters gather at Sydney's Town Hall to rally against a host of Mike Baird's most controversial policies.

But Guthrie will also get an opportunity to engage in something largely lost to the NSW public thanks to a decision of her predecessor Mark Scott: an in-depth discussion of NSW politics with an expert on the subject.

Scott's decision to axe the Friday night current affairs TV program Stateline in response to budget cuts dramatically reduced the depth of the ABC's coverage of state politics across the country.

Rather extraordinarily, after leaving the ABC when his contract was up, Scott took the important job of secretary of the NSW Education Department – an area of state politics requiring maximum scrutiny.

The impact of the decision to axe Stateline is nationwide, but arguably most hard felt in NSW thanks to a paucity of alternative coverage.

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At the time we were told coverage of state issues would simply shift to an extended Sunday night TV news bulletin, plus a program called Australia Wide on ABC24 on Saturdays.

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But they are a poor substitute for the opportunity for an expert in NSW politics – as the former host Quentin Dempster was – to put government ministers under the pump in an extended one-on-one interview.

The nightly current affairs 7.30 program has a heavy national focus, particularly with its political interviews, which is understandable given it is a national program.

It too used to be state based, before the decision to take it national in 1996. Stateline on Friday nights was supposed to be the concession to local political coverage. Yet it was axed by Scott in 2014.

Now with the news that there will be one less night of 7.30 to make way for a new program hosted by the ABC's newly appointed Indigenous affairs editor Stan Grant, it's even harder for state-based issues to get a proper look in.

Radio is little better. State politics, understandably, takes a distant second place to federal matters on the flagship national AM, PM and The World Today programs.

The real problem is that the vitally important, agenda-setting breakfast and morning slots on 702 local radio do not come up to scratch. Their hosts – Robbie Buck and Wendy Harmer – are not specialists.

That's not their fault – they are doing the job the ABC radio chiefs want them to do.

Their ratings indicate most listeners like the job they are doing. But even they would admit that when it comes to a tight focus on state politics, they are a poor substitute for what Dempster was able to offer.

It is easy to forget that the ABC once dominated radio coverage of state politics in the morning slot.

With the late Andrew Olle as host, it was essential listening for anyone involved, interested or affected by the area, which is arguably most of the state. Re-embracing this approach would go a long way to improving the situation.

All of this is occurring at a time when Baird's government is undertaking some of the most controversial reforms in the state's history and spending record amounts of public money on infrastructure.

The ABC, to its credit, retains a newsroom in the NSW press gallery staffed with dedicated, professional and highly skilled specialist political reporters in radio and television.

What has been lost is the specialist, long-form focus.

When Guthrie sits down to chat with Baird, this loss would be an obvious discussion point. It's unlikely that Baird would disagree with the argument to bolster the ABC's coverage of state politics.

Yes, beefing up the scrutiny on him and his colleagues would inevitably bring some heat on the government.

But there are also benefits: long-form coverage of state politics also gives the government the chance to more fully explain its agenda.

Baird also knows it cuts both ways. More scrutiny of governments makes the opposition's work easier, and the Coalition isn't going to be in power forever.